Satellites are used for the collection and transfer of data in connection with communications, navigation and/or surveillance. Such data usually originates from a transmitting device on the surface of the earth, however, satellites can also collect data from the atmosphere and space via sensors installed aboard the satellite. The data received by a satellite is normally transmitted to a receiving unit on the surface of the earth, or it is relayed to another satellite or satellites before it is transmitted to a receiving unit on the earth's surface.
Satellites normally transfer data to stations on the earth's surface through microwaves. While satellites are capable of transmitting data at optical frequencies (i.e. lasers), satellite transmissions to earth stations at optical or laser frequencies would not be practical because the transmission would suffer an unacceptable attenuation during passage through the earth's atmosphere.
Unmanned or manned air vehicles (U/MAVs), such as airships, also have been used in the past to receive and relay communications, power, and other transmissions from stations located on the surface of the earth to other earth-based receiving stations or U/MAVs (See e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,742,358 and 5,348,254).
While satellites, airships or U/MAVs, and earth stations have been used to relay or transfer data, such systems have relied either on satellites or airships, and have not combined into one system satellites, U/MAVs and earth-based stations.
It is consequently an object of the present invention to construct a system to transfer and/or relay data at very high rates from a satellite or satellites to an unmanned or manned air vehicle or vehicles (U/MAVs), and then from the U/MAV(s) to a Gateway/Customer Premise Equipment (Gateway/CPE).
It is another object of the present invention to construct a system to transfer and/or relay data at very high rates from one or more Gateway/CPEs on the surface of the earth to one or more U/MAVs, and then from the U/MAV(s) to one or more satellites.
It is another object of the present invention to increase overall data throughput between satellites and Gateway/CPEs.
It is still another object of the present invention to enhance the capabilities of satellites to transmit data at optical frequencies.
It is yet another object of the present invention to construct a system to transfer and/or relay data at very high rates from one U/MAV to other U/MAVs.